Publicly listed companies have sold more than 108,000 Bitcoin worth roughly $8.08 billion so far in 2026, according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain.
Bitcoin miners account for the majority of those sales, with MARA Holdings and Riot Platforms alone responsible for more than half of the total.
The selling reflects a broader shift across the mining industry as companies increasingly use their Bitcoin reserves to reduce debt, fund data center expansion and invest in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Public companies sold more than 108,000 BTC
Lookonchain reported that 14 publicly traded companies had sold a combined 108,247 BTC as of November 10.
At the values used in the analysis, those sales were worth approximately $8.08 billion.
MARA Holdings was the largest seller by a wide margin.
The company sold 40,581 BTC worth approximately $3.03 billion.
Riot Platforms ranked second after selling 20,264 BTC valued at around $1.51 billion.
Bitdeer Technologies followed with 10,553 BTC worth roughly $787 million.
Together, MARA and Riot accounted for approximately 56% of the Bitcoin sold by the 14 companies included in Lookonchain’s analysis.
MARA leads corporate Bitcoin selling
MARA’s 40,581 BTC in reported sales made it the largest corporate Bitcoin seller in the group.
Lookonchain estimated that MARA sold its Bitcoin at an average price of approximately $74,446.
The company has increasingly treated its Bitcoin reserves as a source of liquidity rather than holding every coin indefinitely.
That marks a significant change from the strategy used by many mining companies during earlier Bitcoin cycles.
Mining companies often accumulated BTC during stronger market periods, but rising capital requirements have encouraged some firms to monetize part of their holdings.
Riot sold more than 20,000 BTC
Riot Platforms sold 20,264 BTC, according to the data.
Lookonchain estimated an average sale price of approximately $73,231.
Those sales generated roughly $1.51 billion.
Riot has been using a significant portion of its Bitcoin proceeds to finance its expansion into large-scale data center infrastructure.
The strategy reflects a growing trend among Bitcoin miners seeking additional revenue streams beyond cryptocurrency mining.
Other Bitcoin miners also sold heavily
Several other publicly traded mining companies appeared near the top of Lookonchain’s list.
Bitdeer Technologies sold 10,553 BTC.
Cango sold 7,001 BTC worth roughly $522 million.
CleanSpark sold 5,715 BTC valued at approximately $426 million.
Core Scientific sold 3,374 BTC worth around $252 million.
Additional sellers included Empery Digital, Keel, Hut 8 Mining, HIVE Digital, IREN, Cipher Digital, Sequans and KULR.
Their reported Bitcoin sales ranged from just over 1,000 BTC to more than 3,000 BTC.
Bitcoin miners are spending heavily on AI infrastructure
The corporate Bitcoin sales come as several mining companies invest aggressively in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.
Many miners already control valuable infrastructure that can potentially be adapted for AI workloads.
That includes:
- Large power contracts
- Data center facilities
- Cooling systems
- High-capacity electricity connections
- Industrial land
- Network infrastructure
As demand for AI computing grows, some miners see an opportunity to diversify away from relying entirely on Bitcoin mining economics.
Miners spent billions on capital assets
A previous analysis by BlocksBridge Consulting found that nine publicly traded Bitcoin miners spent approximately $5.11 billion on capital assets during the first half of 2026.
At the same time, their reported AI and high-performance computing revenue totaled around $341.2 million.
The difference shows how capital-intensive the transition has become.
Many companies are investing now in infrastructure they expect to generate larger returns in future years.
Bitcoin reserves provide one possible source of funding for that expansion.
MARA sold nearly 27,000 BTC during the first nine months
MARA’s latest financial disclosures provide more detail on how the company has used its Bitcoin holdings.
In its third-quarter shareholder letter, MARA reported selling approximately 26,984 BTC during the first nine months of 2026.
Those sales generated around $1.9 billion.
After the end of September, the company sold another 13,597 BTC.
MARA said those coins were sold at an average price of approximately $81,039, generating another $1.1 billion.
MARA used Bitcoin proceeds to repay debt
MARA used $750 million from its more recent Bitcoin sales to repay loans backed by its cryptocurrency holdings.
The repayment allowed the company to release 17,477 BTC that had previously been pledged as collateral.
This illustrates an important distinction in corporate Bitcoin management.
Selling Bitcoin can reduce the size of a company’s treasury holdings, but using the proceeds to repay BTC-backed debt can also free up Bitcoin that was previously restricted.
Companies therefore need to be evaluated on both gross sales and the effect those transactions have on their balance sheets.
MARA has reduced debt by $1.4 billion
The company says it has reduced total debt by approximately $1.4 billion since the beginning of 2026.
That represents a decline of roughly 37%.
Reducing leverage can improve a company’s financial flexibility, particularly when Bitcoin prices are volatile.
BTC-backed loans can become risky when Bitcoin falls because borrowers may need to provide additional collateral or repay debt.
By paying down those loans, MARA reduces its exposure to that type of pressure.
Long Ridge acquisition influenced MARA’s financing strategy
MARA used Bitcoin-backed borrowing partly to support its planned acquisition of Long Ridge.
Long Ridge is a natural gas power business connected to MARA’s broader energy and data center strategy.
The acquisition forms part of the company’s effort to expand beyond Bitcoin mining into power generation and computing infrastructure.
That expansion requires substantial capital.
Selling Bitcoin gives MARA another funding option alongside debt and equity issuance.
MARA’s Bitcoin strategy has changed significantly
MARA historically placed greater emphasis on holding mined Bitcoin.
That approach began changing in 2025.
The company started allowing sales of newly mined BTC to meet financial needs.
In 2026, the policy expanded further to include Bitcoin already held on its balance sheet.
MARA now intends to monetize Bitcoin when necessary to support:
- AI infrastructure investments
- Debt repayments
- Potential share repurchases
- Acquisitions
- General corporate expenses
This makes Bitcoin treasury management a more active part of the company’s capital strategy.
Riot is also using BTC to build data centers
Riot Platforms has taken a similar approach.
The company sold 20,264 BTC during the first nine months of 2026, generating approximately $1.5 billion.
Those proceeds were used primarily to fund data center development.
Riot’s strategy increasingly combines Bitcoin mining with large-scale infrastructure projects designed for AI and high-performance computing customers.
Riot ended September with 2,418 BTC
Despite its large Bitcoin sales, Riot still held 2,418 BTC at the end of September.
Those holdings were valued at approximately $202 million.
The company also reported around $748.2 million in cash, including restricted funds.
This gives Riot substantial liquidity as it invests in new infrastructure.
However, its Bitcoin treasury is now significantly smaller than it would have been if the company had retained all of its mined coins.
Riot has signed major data center agreements
Riot’s expansion includes several large data center deals.
One agreement is valued at approximately $9.1 billion and covers 191 megawatts of capacity at the company’s Rockdale facility in Texas.
Riot also has a separate 15-year lease covering 910 megawatts at Corsicana.
The company has said its contracted data center agreements could generate roughly $38 billion in revenue over their initial terms.
These projects help explain why Riot has been willing to convert a significant portion of its Bitcoin reserves into cash.
Keel also moved away from U.S. Bitcoin mining
Keel Infrastructure, formerly known as Bitfarms, provides another example of the industry’s shift.
The company shut down its U.S. Bitcoin mining operations in June.
It redirected its American power portfolio toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.
Keel reported selling 1,085 BTC for approximately $75 million by August.
Its second-quarter revenue fell 50% from the previous year to $30.4 million.
The company is effectively repositioning its energy infrastructure around a different long-term opportunity.
Why are miners selling Bitcoin?
There are several reasons publicly traded miners may decide to sell Bitcoin.
The first is operating expenses.
Mining companies need money for electricity, employees, maintenance and equipment.
The second is debt.
Bitcoin-backed borrowing can create financial risk when prices fall.
The third is expansion.
Building AI and data center infrastructure requires enormous upfront investment.
Companies can raise that money through debt, stock issuance or by selling assets they already own.
For miners holding large amounts of BTC, selling Bitcoin can be one of the fastest ways to raise cash.
Selling BTC does not necessarily mean miners are bearish
Large corporate Bitcoin sales can appear negative at first glance.
However, selling BTC does not automatically mean management expects Bitcoin’s price to fall.
The decision may be driven by capital allocation rather than a market forecast.
For example, a mining company might believe that investing $500 million in a new data center will generate a better long-term return than keeping the same amount entirely in Bitcoin.
That is a business decision about how to use capital.
It is not necessarily a prediction about Bitcoin’s future price.
Corporate selling can still affect market supply
Even if companies are not bearish, large sales add supply to the market.
More than 108,000 BTC represents a significant amount of Bitcoin.
How much impact those sales have depends on how they are executed.
Companies can sell through:
- Public exchanges
- Over-the-counter desks
- Institutional trading partners
- Structured transactions
Large OTC transactions may have less immediate visible impact on exchange order books than aggressive market selling.
However, the coins still move from corporate treasuries to new buyers.
Miner treasury strategies are changing
The 2026 data suggests publicly traded miners are moving away from the idea that every mined Bitcoin should be held indefinitely.
Instead, companies are increasingly treating BTC as a treasury asset that can be actively managed.
That could include:
- Selling during strong markets
- Borrowing against BTC
- Using BTC as collateral
- Repaying debt with sale proceeds
- Funding acquisitions
- Building new business lines
This approach makes miners more similar to companies managing conventional financial portfolios.
AI could reshape the Bitcoin mining industry
The rise of AI computing is becoming one of the most significant strategic changes in the mining sector.
Bitcoin miners already possess one of the resources AI companies urgently need: access to large amounts of electricity.
AI data centers require enormous power capacity.
Building new grid connections can take years.
Mining companies with existing infrastructure may therefore be able to convert their facilities or sign long-term agreements with AI customers.
That opportunity can sometimes appear more attractive than dedicating all available power to Bitcoin mining.
Bitcoin mining and AI may coexist
The transition does not necessarily mean miners will abandon Bitcoin.
Some companies may continue operating mining facilities while using other sites for AI.
Others may dynamically allocate power depending on profitability.
Bitcoin mining can be turned on and off relatively quickly compared with many industrial processes.
That flexibility can make mining infrastructure useful in broader energy and data center strategies.
The result could be companies operating a mix of Bitcoin mining, AI computing and power-generation businesses.
What corporate Bitcoin sales mean for investors
Investors following public Bitcoin treasuries may need to distinguish between several strategies.
Some companies acquire Bitcoin primarily as a long-term reserve asset.
Others obtain Bitcoin through mining and use it to finance operations.
A miner selling BTC to build a data center has a different business model from a company whose main strategy is accumulating Bitcoin.
Treating both groups as identical “Bitcoin treasury companies” can therefore be misleading.
MARA and Riot remain the companies to watch
MARA and Riot account for more than half of the 108,247 BTC sold by the companies in Lookonchain’s dataset.
Their decisions will therefore continue to have an outsized influence on corporate Bitcoin selling totals.
Both companies are making substantial infrastructure investments.
Future disclosures will show whether their BTC sales continue at the same pace or slow as their financing needs change.
What to watch next
Several factors will help determine whether public companies continue selling Bitcoin.
One is Bitcoin’s price.
Higher prices allow companies to raise more cash while selling fewer coins.
Another is the cost of debt.
If borrowing becomes expensive, companies may rely more heavily on BTC sales.
AI data center construction spending will also matter.
Companies with large expansion plans could continue monetizing Bitcoin to cover capital costs.
Finally, investors should watch how much Bitcoin miners still hold after these sales.
Final thoughts
Publicly listed companies have sold more than 108,000 BTC worth approximately $8.08 billion so far in 2026, according to Lookonchain.
MARA and Riot dominate the list, accounting for more than half of the reported total.
The sales reflect a broader change in how Bitcoin miners manage their balance sheets.
Rather than treating every BTC as a long-term reserve, miners are increasingly using their holdings to repay debt, build data centers and fund expansion into artificial intelligence infrastructure.
For the Bitcoin market, those sales create additional supply.
For the companies themselves, however, they represent a broader capital-allocation strategy.
The key question going forward is whether AI and data center investments generate enough returns to justify selling an asset that miners once preferred to hold.
